Introducing An Exclusive: Oliver Spencer’s Apres-Ski Collection

November 2018Words by The Daily Team

Mr Oliver Spencer is a big skiing fan. “As a kid I used to ski the whole time. It’s just the most romantic thing, being in the mountains and breathing the cold air. The speed, the thrill, it’s great,” he says. Appropriate, then, that he’s designed a collection around apres-ski for his eponymous brand. “Apres-ski is the bit where you take your ski stuff off at the end of the day – which is an amazing feeling by the way – and you just go out and relax and have a drink.” Happily, apres-ski is also a great sartorial opportunity to roll out your best knitwear and make a bit of effort. “You dress up a little, but it’s got to be warm,” explains Mr Spencer. “You drink gluhwein and sit in the mountains and just chill out. It’s a beautiful time.”

The clothes in the collection have a retro colour palette, which Mr Spencer says was inspired by the 1969 James Bond film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Shot in Mürren, Switzerland, at Piz Gloria – a revolving restaurant with panoramic views of the Bernese Alps – the set is a worthy backdrop to the clothes on screen. “In all of the films, James Bond always looks super chic on the slopes,” says Mr Spencer.

Of course, the tactile collection of chocolate corduroy, navy rollnecks and mustard-coloured zip-ups wouldn’t look amiss in Piz Gloria, but they will work just as well on an average weekend in less snowy surroundings. And Mr Spencer’s attention to detail is characteristically on point. The Talbot rollneck, for instance, is knitted from chunky navy and burnt-orange wool with an intarsia mountain motif, and includes a couple of thumbholes that will work to keep your hands warm in the cold weather. Now, where’s that gluhwein?